Govt focuses on key areas of chemical industry

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia has decided to concentrate on the development of three areas of the chemical industry, an official said yesterday.

"After evaluating the achievements of the chemical industry development over the past 25 years, the government has decided to emphasize the development of olefin and aromatic, fertilizer, pulp and cement industries," said Rahardi Ramelan, a vice chairman of the National Development Planning Board.

Rahardi told the seventh convention of Indonesian chemical engineers that olefin and aromatic plants are needed to supply basic materials to textile and plastics industries.

He added that the country requires more fertilizer plants to meet the rising demand of the agricultural sector and needs to develop vegetable-based chemical factories.

He noted that the production of basic chemical products such as polystyrene, polypropylene and paraxylene rose by about 62.4 percent, 32.6 percent and 30.3 percent respectively last year.

He added that the production of cement, urea and TSP fertilizer rose 15.4 percent, 5.9 percent and 1.8 percent respectively last year. (04)